New England Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

New England Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,415 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 1.2% of New England Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. New England Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $7,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkworth Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 366.7% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.00.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $115.71 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.56. The company has a market capitalization of $89.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.32%.

Duke Energy Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.